


For the Greater Good

by Lecinea



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore is a gay disaster, Angst, Canon Compliant, Dysfunctional Family, Family, M/M, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-18 00:00:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16106501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lecinea/pseuds/Lecinea
Summary: Summer 1899, Godric's Hollow.Two brilliant young wizards meet and share two months of intoxicating ambition, insanity and cruel dreams that will mark them for the rest of their lives.





	1. Prologue

##### Monday, July 8 1996, Gaunt Shack

It had all been too easy.  
Albus still couldn’t quite believe it. It had only taken a bit of digging through the rubble of the long abandoned Gaunt shack to find it. And now there it was, protected only by a small black velvet satchel, lying innocently between the rotten remains of dark wooden floorboards. There had been no protective spells of any kind, no traps or curses. Just a few flicks of his wand had been enough to expose it to the world. Mentally he chided Tom for his arrogance and carelessness, leaving an item of such importance basically defenseless.  


With reverence Albus knelt and pointed his wand at the little velvet bag.  


_’Accio’_ he muttered.  


The bag didn’t budge.  


Albus tried a couple more spells. None of them seemed to do anything. Perhaps Tom hadn’t left his soul completely without protection after all. That complicated matters, though it was a good reminder that he had to proceed with the utmost caution.  


Humming a tuneless note, Albus put his wand back in his robes. He studied the harmless-looking satchel for a time, trying to make up his mind on how to proceed. Since magic didn’t seem to work, there was only one way. Slowly he reached out his hand, steadily incing closer and closer, until his long fingers brushed the black velvet with the gentlest of touches.  


He held his breath.  


A moment past.  


Nothing happened.  


He released his breath in relief and tightened his grip. He felt the cold hard metal through the fabric of the velvet bag and felt a spike of excitement that he quickly suppressed. It wasn't over yet.  


Ensuring himself there was no curse on the velvet bag, Albus took out it's contents and examined the old Gaunt ring. It wasn't a very attractive piece of jewelery. The gold band was thick and crudely made. The black stone set inside the ring, while being by far the most attractive part, was too large to be comfortable for wearing. Albus traced the rough edges of the stone with his finger, trying to sense the darkness it contained. Wondering what kind of power this horcrux held.  


Instead his touch found the faint indents of carving. In the dim light of the wrecked Gaunt shack it wasn't visible, so Albus instinctively moved closer to the doorway to get a better look.  


Caught in the sunlight the carving on the ring became quite clear. Shocked, Albus stared down at the pale gray scratchings set starkly against the black stone.  


A circle inside of a triangle, with a line slashed through the middle.  


The sign of the Deathly Hallows.  


The world around Albus seemed to slow down as memories from his illustrious past came crushing down on him. The weight seemed to press on his chest and constrict his breathing. The ring in his hand innocently stared up at him as he remembered a frenzied quest, almost a century ago, to become death's master and rule the world. A quest that had ended in the very thing that they had sought to conquer, and Albus' biggest failure.  


A quest for the very stone that he now held in his hand.  


All other thoughts vanished from his mind.  


After so many years he could finally make things right. He could finally make up for his foolishness and arrogance.  


He could bring back Ariana.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never actually shared any of my writing online before, but I'm trying this new thing called 'sharing' to see if it will motivate me to actually finish something for once. It's slightly terrifying, but let me know what you think! 
> 
> I already have parts of this story written, and while it does require a bit more editing, at least for now updates should be quite frequent (i'm thinking weekly, though I'm gonna try to have chapter 1 up tomorrow). I am also in the market for a beta-reader, so if you're interested please let me know.


	2. Death comes to Godric's Hollow

##### Friday, June 23 1899, the Leaky Couldron, London

"Albus! I've got the drinks! Where are you?" Elphias' high voice was barely audible over the chatter of the crowded bar, and even when straining his neck, Albus failed to spot his smaller friend.  


"I'm here!" He shouted, but remained seated at the small table he'd been able to procure earlier, not wanting to risk losing it.  


"Elphias?" He tried again, keeping his eyes open. Finally Elphias Doge appeared, squeezing himself between two witches that were passionately discussing something, judging from their wild hand gestures and expressions. They hardly noticed Elphias, until he let out a very undignified shriek as one of the witches, a stout woman with wild blonde curls, bumped into him, making him almost drop the two large mugs he was carrying. The butter beer inside the mugs sloshed dangerously over the edge, but Elphias managed to keep most of it inside of their containers, and made it to the table flushed, but without further incident. After he put down the butter beers, he let out a deep sigh as he slid into his seat. Albus laughed, he couldn't help it, his friend was such a funny little fellow.  


"Why Elphias you look as if you have just come back from a great journey instead of leaving for one tomorrow!" He said, his eyes twinkling in amusement. Elphias managed a weak smile.  


"It is ridicously busy today," he weezed. "I've had three different people step on my robes. I wish I was as tall as you, then at least they would see me." Albus chuckled. He was indeed a quite a bit taller than Elphias, but he doubted that was the only reason why poor Elphias tended to be overlooked. Though Albus valued his friendship a great deal, and was glad for the companionship on his grand tour of Europe, Elphias was a bit, well, plain. Nothing about him really stood out. Not his drab brown hair, nor his simple black robes. He didn't have much presence and looked much younger that his seventeen years, but he was friendly and very loyal.  


"Being tall has it's challenges as well," Albus said, then took a sip from his butter beer. "But no matter, you made it back into one piece. Now, lets get to business." and with a flourish of his wand, a map of Europe appeared on the table, already marked and annotated with possible places and people to visit. Elphias leaned forward, peeking over his mug to get a good look.  


"Where in France did that friend of you live again?" He asked, frowning slightly as he studied the map.  


"Mr. Flamel? Around here I believe." Albus said, and pointed his wand to the south of France, where in ink the name 'Nicolas Flamel's house' appeared.  


"It's quite far away, are you sure we can make it in two days?" Elphias asked. Albus shrugged.  


"We could always stay in Paris for a bit longer, I'm sure mr. Flamel wouldn't mind." Elphias nodded slightly, though he didn't seem completely comfortable with the idea.  


"Wouldn't that be rude?" Albus shrugged again.  


"I don't think a wizard as advanced in age as Nicolas Flamel would care about us being a day or two late," he said. "But we can just see how we feel tomorrow, after a day of actual traveling." That seemed to reassure Elphias. He agreed and moved on to his next concern. Worrying about details was how Elphias Doge managed his excitement for their coming journey. Albus himself was no less excited for their trip through Europe, but expressed his excitement in a different way than his friend. He had been in a great mood for weeks and had written letters to all the great European wizarding minds he'd shared correspondence with over his years in Hogwarts, asking them if they could meet. He had fantasized about finally being able to talk to some of his peers face to face. Of course he hadn't been completely depleted of intelligent conversation in England. Bathilda Bagshot, the famed magical historian, lived only a few houses down from his mother’s house in Godric's Hollow. He'd had some fascinating conversations with her about 16th century witch burnings. Of course his professors at Hogwarts were, for the most part, also very competent and they'd allowed him to take on a lot more subjects for his OWLS and NEWTS than his peers.  


But for all his theoretical knowledge, and there was a lot of it, Albus was still only a seventeen year old wizard, fresh out of Hogwarts, with very little practical experience. He had never even left England, his little sister's condition simply didn't allow them to travel. This would be his first time leaving the country.  
His mother wasn't too happy about it. She had hoped that now he no longer had to go to school, he could help her out at home. Albus wouldn't tell her directly, but being stuck in Godric's Hollow with his cold mother and crazy sister was literally the last thing he wanted to do with his new freedom. Instead he had convinced her that it would be a waste if he didn't travel while he was still young and without any real responsibilities. He had coaxed her into letting him go by explaining how much he would learn on such a journey, what great contacts he would be able to make and that it could be nothing but beneficial for him in whatever career he chose to pursue, which would in turn be beneficial for the entire family. Eventually his mother had caved and agreed that it certainly would be the experience of a lifetime and gave him her blessing. If Albus was honest to himself he knew that even if she hadn't approved, he still would've gone, but he was glad that it hadn't come to that. Now he could just enjoy going over plans that he and Elphias had already decided on months ago, drink and celebrate life. The future was bright and full of promise.

\-------------------------------------------

##### Friday, June 23 1899, the forest just outside Godric's Hollow

The darkness slowly settled in. The last light of the day still bravely fighting to break through the thick foliage. Though it fought a losing battle, it was the middle of summer, so there would be at least an hour or two of fading sunlight left until it was truly dark.  


It didn't bother Aberforth either way, he liked the forest trail just outside the village and had walked it so often that he could do it with closed eyes. Even in the darkest winter night he would find his way home, especially in this area.  
Soon he would reach the river, then he would follow the water downstream until he reached the paved road that would pass the sheep field and circle back to Godric's Hollow. By the time he reached home it would be almost completely night and he would be tired enough to be able to fall asleep.  
It wasn't like he would otherwise have much trouble falling asleep, really, it was just the excuse he kept using. He liked having something to do. It wasn't as if he disliked being home. He didn't mind helping his mother around the house and with Ariana, who always managed to make him smile. But his mother thought it strange that he didn't have any friends, so every evening he would escape her questions about kids from school. 

Truth was that Aberforth just didn't really have friends at school. People thought he was strange so they avoided him. He wasn’t bothered by it. He had Ari at home and that was plenty. She liked him for exactly who he was.  
He wasn't like Albus, who easily made friends with both kids his age and adult wizards and witches. They all thought he was so clever. 

Aberforth clenched his fists as he thought about his elder brother. Albus Dumbledore certainly was smart, a little too much for Aberforth's taste. Sometimes he suspected Albus of talking down to both him and Ari. That he thought them simple minded, which neither of them were.  
Of course his brother denied it all when confronted, but Aberforth thought Albus' eagerness to get away from them said enough. When he’d told Ari his thoughts, she'd gently chided him and said that he shouldn't blame Albus for wanting to see the world. That she would like to as well, someday, when she was no longer afraid. It was sweet. But Ariana was too nice for her own good. But he hadn't told her that, instead he'd gone for a walk.

\-------------------------------------------

"I'm home!" Aberforth shouted as he opened the door to the Dumbledore cottage. The hallway was dark. He had taken his sweet time on his walk, he'd been gone for at least 2 hours. 

"Mum? Ari?" He called out when no one answered. 

Silence again. 

That wasn't right. Aberforth hurried into the parlor, where his family generally spend their evenings. It was eerily quiet there as well, the fireplace unlit and the room felt dark and cold. The kitchen was just as empty and neither his mother or sister were outside in their small back yard.

Suddenly Aberforth heard creaking of floorboards, right above his head. He rushed upstairs, nearly tripping on his own feet as he climbed the stairs.

"Mum?" He tried again.  
Soft dry sobs were audible from Ariana's room. Aberforth swallowed his growing fear and wished for a weapon. Then, feeling slightly foolish, remembered he was a wizard and managed to get his wand out of the pocket of his slacks with trembling hands. 

The door to Ariana's room was slightly ajar, he only had to push it softly for it to open. Wand first he entered, not sure what to expect but fearing the worst.

A form was lying on the floor, with another flung over it. The latter was the one that was crying. 

"Lumos." Aberforth whispered, he was still underage and wasn't actually allowed to do magic, but their cottage didn't have any modern muggle electricity and he simply didn't have the time to light a candle.

Dread filled Aberforth as he took in the scene in front of him. His mother lay on the ground, arms wide and her robes spread around her in some morbid resemblance to children making angels in snowy weather. Her eyes were open, blankly staring at the ceiling, seeing nothing. Her mouth was opened in a grimace of shock. Laying on top of her was Ariana, her face buried in her mother's chest, as she'd done so many times before when she was afraid or upset. Her thin shoulders shook as she cried. She hadn't even reacted to Aberforth entering, nor to the light coming from his wand, she was too consumed in her grief. 

Aberforth swallowed. He crept closer to where his sister and mother lay, careful not to spook Ariana.

"Ari?" he whispered, reaching out with his free hand. It wasn't until he gently touched her back that her head snapped up. Her blue eyes were wide and red rimmed from crying. Her pupils large and unstable, the black inking outwards, trying to spread, which was a tell that that the shock of seeing him was enough for her to lose control of her magic. 

The last thing they needed right now was one of her attacks.

Aberforth dropped his wand on the ground and lunged forward to take the girl in his arms, pulling her close and making calming noises.

"Ssssh Ari, it's fine. It's me. It's Abe. Ssssh. You are safe." he whispered as he stroked her hair and drew a circle with his other hand on her back. 

"Ssssh. It's okay Ari." he told her, even though everything was far from okay. But he just needed her to stay calm. It took what seemed to be an eternity, but eventually Ariana stopped shaking so much. Then finally she spoke up, her high voice slightly hoarse.

"Abe?" she said. Aberforth nodded.

"Yes, it's me."

"Abe, I think I did something really bad." 

"Sssssh, it's not your fault." he said, trying desperately not to look at the empty shell that used to be his mother and fighting tears that threatened to come out. Ariana pulled back form their embrace enough so she could look him in the face. Her delicate featured were anguished. Fresh tears rolled over her cheeks. 

"I think I killed mummy," she said in a horrified whisper. "I don't remember it Abe, but I must've lost control again." 

"It's not your fault." he repeated, not knowing what else he could say. His thoughts were all jumbled and he was still unable to look down at his mother. He was cold and trembling just as much as Ariana was. He felt hopelessly inadequate to deal with everything. The only thing he could focus on was the thought that he had to keep his little sister safe.

"Abe, what are we going to do?" Ariana asked. 

"Er... " He had no idea, but he knew that he did not want to stay in the same room with a dead body. So he forced himself to stand and pulled Ariana with him. 

"W-we're going downstairs," he started. Yes, that seemed right. "Then we will light the fire." One step at a time he backed out of the room. Ariana followed. 

"A-and then we will... we can..." he struggled to think.

"We should get Al." 

Aberforth stared blankly at his sister, who squirmed slightly under his scrutiny, but she didn't back down.

"Al will know what to do," she said.

Right. Albus. Albus would know what to do. Aberforth slowly nodded, but then suddenly stopped. 

"But he is leaving!" Ariana flinced at the loudness of his sudden exclamation, and Aberforth quickly apologized.

It took Aberforth three times to properly light the fire without magic, his wand was still lying in Ariana's room and he was scared to go back there by himself. So instead he wrapped Ariana in a blanket and heated up some milk so they both had something warm to drink. He then grabbed a quill, ink and a piece of spare parchment and quickly penned down a message for his older brother.

 _Albus,_  
_Something went wrong. Please come home right away._  
_Abe._  


With the message clutched in his hand he ran upstairs to the attic, where they kept the two family owls, praying to merlin that at least one of the birds would still be home.  
He let out a sigh of relief when Nougat, the larger and fastest of the two, was sitting on his perch. Nougat dutifully extended his leg for Aberforth to tie the message around. 

"Okay boy," he said, trying to keep his hands from trembling too much. "You need to find Albus as fast as you can. He's probably somewhere in Diagon Alley. He needs to come home. Peck him until he disapparates okay?" Nougat blinked slowly, which Aberforth took as confirmation. 

Then the large bird spread his wings, and with two powerful strokes he flew out of the attic window and into the night. Aberforth watched him go, then went downstairs. As he passed the first floor he decidedly did not look in the direction of Ariana's room, but it didn't help. By the time he was back in the parlor, he was crying, fat, ugly tears rolling over his cheeks. He sat down next to Ariana, who was still trembling, even though the fire was burning merrily and was fast heating the room. She edged closer to him, nuzzling in his side, but didn't say anything. Aberforth was grateful for it. He wanted to be calm and mature and collected, but he had never felt smaller.

\-------------------------------------------

By the time that Albus and Elphias had finalized their plans for the next morning, the Leaky Cauldron was already dwindling in clientele. The boys had decided to depart very early the next morning, at the break of dawn. The intelligent thing to do was to go back to Elphias' parents house and try to get some sleep, but both boys were excited enough to pull an all-nighter. 

So instead of packing up their things and leaving, they ordered another round of drinks, and this time they went for the alcoholic kind, emboldened by how mature they felt. Albus, not usually one for consuming anything that would cloud rational thought, decided to indulge with some Firewhiskey, while Elphias, whose stomach couldn't tolerate bitter drinks, got a Gillywater. When they got their drinks Elphias took his glass and raised it to the sky.

"To our Grand Tour!" he toasted, his cheeks flushed and his wispy voice clearer than usual. Albus grinned and raised his glass. 

"To our future!" he said, eyes twinkling.

At that moment a large tawny owl flew through the open window above the bar door. With a swoop and a flourish the owl landed on the table, right in between Albus and Elphias.

Both boys stared at the creature, their hands still raised in their toast. It took a moment, but then Albus realized that the owl was his mother's. 

He blinked in surprise and didn't immediately respond when Nougat hooted and stuck out his claw, a small, ripped piece of parchment wrapped around his paw.  
Nougat was not the most patient of animals, so when Albus made no move to remove the message, he nibbed Albus in his finger.

Albus yelped, nearly dropping his glass of firewhiskey. He then quickly took the paper from Nougat before the bird could bite him again.

The message was short, with incredibly sloppy handwriting. Albus had to squint and turn the paper somewhat to decipher what the letter actually said. It was clearly written by Aberforth. Something had gone wrong, but what the letter didn’t say, just that he had to come home. Irritated, Albus crumbled the parchment. Of course something had gone wrong. Something always went wrong when he couldn't have it.

"What is it?" Elphias asked. Albus frowned.

"It's from my brother, he says I have come right away," he said. Nougat hooted in confirmation. And Albus gave the owl an annoyed glance, before looking back at Elphias. "They should be able to handle it. I can't just come back home, I already said goodbye to them, I'm on vacation." 

Albus had already decided he would definitely not go, but Elphias looked worried.

"If it was your mum that wrote maybe. I mean no offense Albus, but I don't think Aberforth would call you for help if he could help it," Elphias said carefully, looking nervous about having to correct the friend whom he idolized. "I-I mean, he doesn't exactly like you, does he?"

Albus considered that. Elphias definitely had a point there. His mother was usually the one that would beg him to come home, while Aberforth generally preferred that he stayed away. It was true that he didn't have the best relationship with his younger brother. He and Abe were only three years apart, but couldn't be more different. Albus had been the best student Hogwarts had seen in years, while Aberforth was barely getting by.  
Albus was often frustrated with him, because he felt that Aberforth wasn't stupid, but just didn't apply himself properly. Abe took that as an attack on his character, which he reacted quite poorly to.  
It was unusual that Aberforth actually reached out to Albus without any prompting. That must mean that something was really up. 

"You're right," he admitted and Elphias let out a relieved sigh and nodded eagerly, it had taken much out of the poor boy to critique. "I guess I need to go home, sorry." 

Elphias shrugged. "I'll just go home as well, my parents will be delighted to have me for one more night, then we can just meet up again tomorrow morning." 

”We'll meet at six am in front of King's Cross?" 

"Seems like an excellent idea." 

"Right." Albus put down his untouched firewhiskey, and stood. Nougat stared at him with large unblinking owl eyes, probably waiting to watch him leave, that seemed like a thing that Aberforth would do to make sure that Albus would actually go. "See you tomorrow then." 

With that goodbye he walked to the alley behind the leaky cauldron to disapperate. With a flourish of his wand and the familiar tug at his navel, he disappeared from the alley and re-appeared in the small, hedged in backyard of his familial home in Godric's Hollow. His initial irritation still hadn't fully faded, which he didn't realize until he walked in the house and found Aberforth and Ariana wrapped up in a blanket in front of a merry crackling fire. 

"So. I'm here," he said, grouchier than he intended. Both his younger siblings flinched at the sound of his voice. Ariana jumped and pushed her face in Aberforth's shoulder and his brother's head snapped up. While Ariana's response to a surprise wasn't unusual, Aberforth's red rimmed eyes and tear streaked face definitely was. Instantly all his irritation vanished, replaced by worry. 

"What happened!" He said and rushed forward. Aberforth reacted by pulling back, his shocked expression replaced by anger. 

"Took you long enough." he said, glaring up.

"I came as fast as I could." 

"Please don't fight." Ariana said softly, her face still pressed firmly into Aberforth's body. 

That was the magic spell. Both boys immediately fell silent. Aberforth took a second to collect his thoughts and then seemed to decide on something. He gave a grim nod, then with a gentleness that always caught Albus by surprise (he honestly didn't have the highest opinion of his somewhat boorish brother), Aberforth disentangled himself from both the blanket and Ariana's grasp. 

"You stay here, okay." he said softly, wrapping his little sister back up. "There is no need for you to see that again."

Hepushed himself up from the sofa and gave Albus a nod in the direction of the hallway, as he walked past him. Albus wanted to ask what all the cryptic talk and drama was all about, and where their mother was, but instead followed Aberforth into the hallway and up the stairs. In front of Ariana's room he paused and turned around, his expression grim and serious, but without any trace of his usual antagonism. 

"Ariana had another attack," Aberforth started. Albus nodded, that happened every now and then, they both knew that. Ever since those muggle boys had attacked her, Ariana refused to use her magic, but magic did not like to stay dormant. So her magic reserves built up, and at moments of emotional turmoil, it exploded out of her.

"I wasn't home," Aberforth continued. "I was on a walk through the woods. But Ari..." He paused, not sure how to continue. Albus remained silent, sensing that his brother did not need him hurrying him along. 

"Al, Ari accidentially hurt mum." Aberforth finally managed to get out. If Albus hadn't known his brother his entire life, he wouldn't have spotted the nervous twitching of Aberforth's fingers. "It wasn't her fault! I should've been home to calm her down but I just had to get out and now mum is-" Albus raised his hand to stop the word jumble that came out of Aberforth's mouth and quickly processed and summarized everything that his brother had said.

"Mother is hurt? Where is she? How bad is it?" He cut to the chase, not wanting to waste time on talking if there was a chance he could help. He was finally a bit glad that his siblings had thought to get him as soon as possible.

But Aberforth just shook his head, then with a trembling hand pointed at Ariana's room. 

"She's dead," he whispered.

The moment the words were spoken they hung in the air between the two brothers, heavy and dark. Albus rushed into Ari's dark room, when he instantly spotted the figure on the ground. Albus had his wand out in seconds, pointed at the oil lamps on Ariana's desk and nightstand. They lit up instantly.  
He kneeled next to his mother's body, put two fingers on her's jugular, feeling for a pulse. He then rolled her over, so she was laying face up instead of on her side. Her eyes were wide open and glassy, her mouth slightly ajar. Albus tried not to focus on that, instead he cast a reanimation spell. 

Nothing seemed to happen, but that didn't mean anything, Albus wasn't very well versed in healing spells and charms, so it could be that he just did it wrong. So he put his wand away and tried it the muggle way. He grabbed the thick covers of Ariana's bed and threw it over his mother's body, then made sure to tuck in the edges so even her feet were warm. He rubbed on her abdomen, trying to get circulation flowing again. Then tried to blow air into his mother's mouth, the way he had read in some medical journal that his Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts had lend him in his 5th year. Apparently people had been brought back to life by this method, but reading the theory and applying it in practice were two very different things. In the back of his mind he was also aware that it had been way too long. By the looks of it, his mother had lain there for at least a couple of hours. Her skin was already cold and hard to the touch, yet Albus continued. He used every technique he could think of. 

"Albus?" Aberforth's voice was small. Albus looked up at him. His brother stood forlorn in the doorway, his expression uncharacteristically concerned, and underneath that still the deep sadness and red rimmed eyes that had caught him so off guard when he entered the house earlier. He looked very young, in a way that Aberforth had never really looked young, except maybe after Ariana's attack, and then again after their father's misguided vengeance. Albus had no idea how he himself looked, but he imagined he wasn't much better off than Aberforth. 

Though Albus was quite sure he wasn't crying yet, instead he felt strangely hollow as he continued to wreck his brain on other methods of Resurrection and reanimation.

"She's gone, Albus." Aberforth said. Albus shook his head, refusing to let reality settle in.

"I can still... I mean there are things- spells maybe- or otherwise something else..." He said, his voice frantic, as he tried to think of something other than what he'd already done. Something that would work on someone that had stopped breathing for hours. There were theories about freezing the brain to prevent decay.  
He shook his head, that wouldn't work. It had to happen seconds, at most minutes after death. It took a few more moments of Ablus desperately trying to recall any useful information before he finally had to admit that there was nothing.

That it was too late. 

That his mother, his stern, strong and yet caring mother was dead and would not come back. His hands fell next to his body. The hollow truth ringing through his mind as he straightened his back. He could not break his gaze from his mother's corpse though. It was hypnotizing, the unnatural stillness of the deceased. 

He flinched when he felt Aberforth’s hand on his shoulder. It didn't move, it just lay there, warm and living, and right then, that was comfort enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was the first chapter. I hope the switching between Albus and Aberforth's PoVs aren't too jarring.
> 
> Please leave kudos and comment! I'd love to know what you guys think!


End file.
